Helping neighborsnear and far

The pandemic put a stop to our in-person volunteering in 2020, leaving our employees eager to give even more generously and enthusiastically in 2021.

We kicked off Volunteer Month in April strong, partnering with the Greater Lansing Food Bank and McLaren Health Plan to hold a mobile food distribution event at our Okemos, Michigan, parking lot, serving more than 80 local families in need.

We also answered the call to protect the health of our community, working with Sparrow Hospital to streamline their drive-thru COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Lansing, Michigan. Volunteers greeted patients, directed them throughout the site, supported data entry, assisted vaccinators and provided general help to keep things moving efficiently.

“Volunteering at the clinic was important to me because I wanted to help my community and be able to help in the fight against COVID-19,” said Ben Every, business rules specialist. “The amount of appreciation and gratitude I was shown by the staff and patients at the clinic was enough to make me want to do it again in a heartbeat.”

We again put our empty Okemos parking lot to use as a workspace to support Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit that brings together volunteers to assemble and deliver handmade quality beds to children and families in need.

But our efforts weren’t only focused on our backyard. We were looking globally, too.

We knew a large part of our workforce was personally affected by India’s COVID-19 crisis as cases in July reached 31.5 million and the death toll was rising dramatically every day.

Working with the American India Foundation, we collected employee donations to cover the costs of health facilities, frontline workers and community-centered education in India. The company matched all employee donations and together we raised more than $12,000—our largest employee giving campaign in company history.